Ienzo's Midnight Shenanigans
by ZexionLexicon
Summary: Out of the watchful eye of his mother hen of a guardian, Ienzo finally has time to break into the restricted area of the castle library.


_**It's currently 6:00 in the morning and I have not slept since…yesterday. So…it's not really hard to guess where this little drabble's inspiration came from. And yes, I know I said I'd put away writing for a while, but I'm just so **_**bored!**_** I've been trying to get to bed since 1:00 this morning but I'm just…not tired. Oh well, you didn't come here for my dumb rambling.**_

Ienzo wasn't sure if he was doing this for fun, or to make Even look like a fool. Admittedly, the latter had been his key goal at first, but hey, the former must've been a bonus.

The young apprentice scanned the room in front of him, not sure where to begin. His steel blue eyes panned over to a certain area of the room, the one Even had told him- through no uncertain terms- was off limits. A mischievous grin slid over his face as he sauntered over to Ansem the Wise's bookshelf of research. As he got closer, the problem of where to start plagued him once more; where should he begin?

_Might as well start from the beginning, _the young boy thought to himself. He tilted his head upwards and found the first book was far out of his reach. Rolling his eyes at such a nuisance, Ienzo strolled over to the library ladder and tugged it over to where he had stood previously. He smirked at the image of Even's face if he ever found out that he had snuck out past his bedtime and retreated into the castle's library. Typically, any image of Even freaking out was a source of amusement since the boy's _"guardian"_ was forever acting overly protective and uptight about…well…_everything._ This, of course, triggered Ienzo to intentionally act out for the sake of annoying his master. In fact, it had become so amusing for the boy that even Aeleus had begun to turn a pretend blind eye to Ienzo's antics. For instance, if he ever strolled out of the washroom, arms laden with half the castle's supply of toilet paper, Aeleus would suddenly pretend to be distracted by a shiny object. It had become such a glorious alliance that the blue haired boy's superiors had started to give their younger "comrade" some suggestions on how to continue to mildly irritate Even.

Perched on the top rung of the ladder, Ienzo eyebrows knitted into a puzzled expression as he read the title of the first book; one that looked very out of place amongst the dully colored textbooks.

"_Lexicon_?" He murmured, hesitantly reaching for the book's spine. His hand stayed, suspended in the air as his eyes flickered over to the binder next to the _Lexicon_. "Heartless?" He inquired as his eyes moved over the binder's label. "A study by Ansem the Wise…?"

Ienzo studied the appearance of the battered binder. It had obviously not been handled in a while as a thin layer of dust coated its once glossy surface. Upon cracking it open, the pages of data were old and musky smelling. His earlier grin had long since faded as he found that most of the words among the pages were very long and complicated; something that had not often occurred since he was allowed to browse through the material in the castle's collection. And if it did happen, either Aeleus or Even was around to sound out and explain the word to him. Looking back, Ienzo recalled some occasions where Even had confiscated the book when the boy inquired about certain words he stumbled upon. Come to think of it, Even really did seem to act suspiciously whenever he (very reluctantly) supervised Ienzo's trips to the library. Before, the apprentice could only infer that the longhaired man had simply not understood Ienzo's love for reading, but now he believed that the group offering him residence was hiding a secret from him. In fact, a band of men living in the isolation of a castle whilst being situated on the edge of a heavily populated town did seem incredibly shady to the child.

Truth be told, these speculations scared the boy. He'd never even thought to question his current living situation. The kind scarf bearing Ansem the Wise once explained to him that the castle was his refuge from the distant memories and dark thoughts he didn't understand. A pit of emptiness opened up in Ienzo's stomach as he once again was reminded that he didn't remember much of his life before the castle. If he looked back hard enough he could recall the red scarf flapping in the breeze as Ansem the Wise rescued him from the rubble of his biological parents' house as blue creatures with evil eyes surrounded them. Gosh, he had been so _young_ at the time. No one had ever bothered to tell him what his parents' fate had become, but it was logical that they were dead. Ienzo didn't blame the others for it, though. Frankly, he'd never asked, so there was no reason for them to explain anything to him. Plus, they all probably figured he was too young to process such information, which was quite untrue.

The words made no sense to Ienzo. What was all this gibberish about "vessels" and "past selves"? His confusion only increased as he scanned over a passage about these things called "nobodies." It was all so ridiculous that he just wanted to throw his hands up into the air and ask why this information was sitting amongst Ansem's research! Of course an action as such was illogical as it would most likely wake up the other residents of the castle, or, God forbid, Even. And at this realization, Ienzo basked in the knowledge that he had officially defied Even's idiotic rules for nearly half an hour.

Finally Ienzo shut the infernal binder and slid down the ladder. A childish beam lit up his face as he faced a wall of far more interesting books to read. Where would he be taken next? To the encyclopedia section, perhaps? Even had always wondered how his apprentice could spend an entire day flipping through the many entries. Ienzo's eyes slid over to the small fiction section at the back. While the castle was mainly used for research, the others had requested a recreational selection in addition to all the shelves crammed with old notebooks and ledgers. His giddiness came to a slamming halt before he could decide as an all too familiar voice called out to him.

"Ienzo? Ienzo, where are you? Answer me, child," Even shouted in a tone similar to the one he'd used just the other day when Ienzo broke out of the castle and met a strange boy who protected him from those awful blue creatures. "Ienzo?"

To the boy's relief, the voice seemed to be retreating to the other end of the castle. If he stayed absolutely quiet, he could probably remain there for several more minutes undetected. Slowly, the child back peddled further into the library's carpeted flooring. Unfortunately, he miscalculated his surroundings and toppled over a desk with a surprised shriek, causing heavy books and several loose papers to come crashing down on the floor. The sound that resulted was a loud one, a sound that would surely alert Even of his whereabouts. As if on cue, he surged into the room, his eyes blazing with anger. It only then occurred to Ienzo that he may have crossed a line.

"You!" The blond male exclaimed. "Have you any idea how worried I was? I go to check on you and I find nothing but an empty bed! Your uncouth behavior has gotten out of control, child! If this boorish manner does not cease, Ansem may have to take drastic measures?"

As always, Ienzo only offered the hysterical man a bored gaze. It was customary for Ienzo to not give a single shit as Even rambled on about responsibility and his hatred for loutish behavior.

"Don't you understand, boy," Even practically pleaded. "I may very well lose you if this continues! The master suggests using you as a test subject one of these days! How can I convince him to spare you if I can't keep an eye on you!? And it only brings back the reminder that I can't…save everyone…"

Guilt pooled in Ienzo's stomach. He'd stretched his master to his breaking point, all right. Perhaps it would fare him well to take heed of Even's words. He certainly didn't want to end up as a test subject like Even spoke. Bashfully, he turned his gaze to the floor in what he hoped displayed a gesture of shame. The frantic adult seemed to regain his senses and sighed.

"Hmph. What am I going to do with you?" He hummed as he steered the little boy to the door. As they exited, he noticed the ladder leaning against Ansem's shelf of data. "Ienzo. What were you reading?!"

_**O-Okay I'm not really sure where this went. I swear- I meant for this to be a fun little drabble about Ienzo wreaking havoc after hours, but sowee... :( Y'know, I'm not really sure if this thing was entirely accurate with…um…canon…especially with that whole Lexicon thing. Eh, whatever. You can't have ZexionLexicon without the Lexicon *rimshot* Alright, I'm done. R&R!**_


End file.
